The West Civ Proj

This is a little horror story written as a reflection to a class discussion about the Black Death during the Middle Ages.

The Swarm

by Bryan Doherty

The year is 1968 on a small island off the coast of Argentina. This island, Parasio, is small and isn’t even marked on most maps but is inhabited by over 100 people. These people are from all over the world and have come to this island to get away from modern society. One man leads them all. This man was loved by all and hated by none, but he was cruel and violent. He promised a better life for those people but really only controlled them. He had complete control over them and the people on the island had no way to live by themselves or to even escape if they wanted to.

One day a strange man came ashore the island in hopes for a better life. He was immediately engrossed in this new “perfect society” and had made a new life for himself. But when he went to meet with the leader of the island, the leader knew the man was trouble. The leader instantly told his spies that he had placed throughout the island to watch the man. The spies did not help because that night the leader of Parasio died mysteriously in his sleep. Doctors later found that his lungs had imploded while he slept leaving no marks on the body.

Instantly everyone appointed the new man the leader. All on the island accepted him as the leader, even the old leader’s spies and body guards. Each man, woman, and child swore allegiance to him. Soon though things began to go awry. People on the island started to die. Each of the dead had had their lungs imploded while they were sleeping leaving no marks on the body. Within thirty six hours of coming into contact the new leader, that person was dead. Every one panicked and tried to get off the island, but there was no way to get off. They were trapped.

Within a month there was no one left on the island except the new man who had joined the island society and become the leader. He was trapped on the island with no way to get off and only the dead for company. He went mad and as soon as he was dead the white swarm of parasites left his body to find new victims.

Here is a short annotated collection of what we found online. It’s pretty interesting because even though most people believe that recycling is a modern idea, research has shown that even the Ancient Romans recycled!

The Ancient Romans took old metal after conquering a new place and melted it down to make statues. This reused the metal and made it into something useful. The Romans would recycle the swords and jewelry of the places and regions they defeated. They would melt the metal down to make statues of gods and war heroes.

Stones used in the walls of Roman cities were recycled and used to make other people’s houses and other things when part of the wall was damaged. Much later, museums in Britian used glass from the Roman times to turn into gems and decorate their displays.

This site is about how the Vikings recycled old metal weapons by melting them down and using them for other things. It is maybe unusual to hear that the Vikings recycled, but they would always reuse weapons from obtained from battles.

This site from the Waste Watch Project’s WasteOnline has a “Chronology of Waste” that has information dating back to 3000 BC . This site tells how different civilizations recycled waste and used their waste products.

In gearing up for a Viking raid, the Norsemen would have first gathered their weapons. A sword with a blade about 90 cm long that was sharp on both sides would be needed.

They would also take a short ax and a round shield. Many of the Vikings also wore helmets made of iron with eye, ear, and nose coverings.

Bows and arrows would also have been taken to shoot at the enemy from boats, or on land when approaching. Some Viking warriors had mail tunics, and these would have been brought to battle as well. Once this gear and weapons was gathered, it would be loaded into shallow draught longships that were used for “hit-and-run” surprise attacks by the Viking raiders.

Sometimes, however, things just didn’t work out for the Viking Warrior.

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About Us

Welcome to the West Civ Proj!
This is a blog written and edited by the 9th grade Honors West Civ class at the John Carroll School in Bel Air, MD. We hope you enjoy our blog and we look forward sharing ideas and opinions with you! We love comments and we look forward to having a conversation about history... a conversation that includes all of you!